1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a roof unit which is intended for installation in an opening formed in a motor vehicle roof and which has a transparent area and/or a roof opening which can be closed with an openable cover, and to a motor vehicle with such a roof unit.
2. Description of Related Art
A roof unit of the type to which the invention is directed is also called an xe2x80x9cafter-market roofxe2x80x9d and is known, for example, from published European Patent Application EP 0 719 667 B1. It is installed in an opening which is made subsequently in a fixed motor vehicle roof surface so that the vehicle passengers can enjoy the advantages of a transparent roof area or an at least partially exposeable roof opening, even when the motor vehicle roof was originally manufactured as closed roof.
Furthermore, an increase in the utility of motor vehicles has enabled passengers to view movies or play video games. For this purpose, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,055 discloses a display unit for a motor vehicle which has a flat panel screen which is pivotally mounted on a housing. The housing is attached to the underside of the motor vehicle roof. The screen can be pivoted around a transverse axis from a rest position in which it is held lying flat at least partially in the housing, and a position of use in which it projects down from the housing. The housing which contains the flat panel screen is attached to the motor vehicle roof in a position such that the folded-down flat panel screen is suitable for viewing by the passengers in the rear seat of a passenger car.
In the ceiling mounted monitor unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,236 B1, the housing is located above the seat of the front seat passenger so that both the front seat passenger and also passengers on the rear seats can view the flat panel screen. The installation of such a monitor unit in which the housing is attached to the underside or inner side of the fixed motor vehicle roof can take place either in the production of the motor vehicle or even afterwards. However, retrofit installation can be a problem if there are no suitable anchoring points on the motor vehicle roof or motor vehicle headliner which enable permanent mounting, or they can only be found with difficulty.
The primary object of the present invention is to devise roof unit of the initially mentioned type which, besides the known advantages with respect to light incidence and ventilation possibilities, offers other possibilities for use, and a motor vehicle with such a roof unit.
The object is achieved in the aforementioned roof unit in accordance with the invention in that at least one screen is integrated on the underside of the roof unit facing the motor vehicle interior, in the installed state, which can be moved out of a rest position which is flat in the bottom part into a position of use, especially swung down. In this way, with subsequent installation of the roof unit, at the same time, a screen can be attached in the motor vehicle interior without additional attachment being necessary for this purpose. If necessary, the screen which is otherwise, for example, located largely or entirely countersunk is moved into its position of use.
Preferably, on the roof unit, a unit is integrated for preparation and processing of data or information and for the information to be displayed by the screen so that with subsequent installation of the roof unit, data lines to remote data devices, such as DVD players or video machines are not necessary.
Furthermore, there can be a control unit for data display on the roof unit and it can be at least coupled to the latter. The control unit is held, especially countersunk, on the roof unit and can be removed by the user, its being connected, for example, by means of a signal cable or a remote control to the information processing means or the screen.
If the bottom part of the roof unit is formed by one of several interchangeable parts which have different configurations, by subsequent replacement, the bottom part which has been made as desired with one or more screens and the corresponding data storage means, such as DVD players or the like, can be attached.
Feasibly the screen is a flat panel screen for reasons of space.
A roof unit in accordance with embodiments of the invention is explained in detail low with reference to the accompanying drawings.